R&D

Bat-onomous Navigation

Inkonova is developing an autonomous navigation system for aerial drones to operate in unknown zones without any touch of infrastructure; no GPS, light or any installations. Ones akin, but not limited, to underground mines.

Some survey profiles are almost impossible with manual piloting due to darkness, unstructured environment, tight spaces and absence of line of sight, therefore such technology is essential to vastly expand horizons for unmanned aerial exploration in all similar environments. It is also warranted by our clients, who wanted to eliminate the necessity of an external human pilot, and have the operation as easy as click of the mouse instead. What could be initially meant to increase reach and access in underground mines, may have its revolutionary effect transcending to other sects like planetary exploration, or warehouse and facility automation.

It is an architecture of the drone platform, flight control system, SLAM and laser scanners, that constitutes this special autonomy mode, autonomy of bat-like environments, or batonomous navigation.

Drones as they exist now give sensors wings, they also have primitive minds and eyes, we’re trying to be the next evolutionary step in this eye-mind system that enable robotic birds to fly in underground or similarly dark spaces without any touch of infrastructure.